Ministry never slows down, never allows a lot of free time, and can at times, consume every waking hour. It has been like that lately. In spite of this, we take this time to be thankful - thankful for a couple of days off, thankful for time with family, thankful for an abundance of food, thankful for time to slow down and relax.
We all have much to be thankful for - jobs, a place to live, food on the table, friends or relatives safely back from active duty in the Middle East, family, and so much more. We are especially thankful this year to have our nephew back home from his last tour, thankful to spend time with my sister and her husband, thankful for a weekend spend with the twins, thankful for Thanksgiving dinner with aunts and uncles and cousins and friends, thankful for our playful puppy.
What are you thankful for this year? Think about it, post something if you don't mind sharing, and praise God for all that He has given you.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
A Sermon for Reformation Sunday
Jeremiah 31:31–34
Psalm 46
Romans 3:19–28
John 8:31–36
People of God, I have something to tell you this morning that you are not going to like. We are nothing but slaves – you and I – all of us – are slaves – we are all slaves – to sin, to the world, and as slaves, we are all condemned. None of us are worthy to be here, to come to the altar and receive the body and blood of Christ – none of us!!!
We sin, we choose our own wants and desires over the needs of others. We hoard our time, our money, our family, our resources. Daily, we let people around the world starve. We even let our neighbors right here go hungry, go without food and shelter, even though we have enough – for ourselves, our families, and even enough to share.
We demand that things be done the way that makes us happy, no matter what. Our happiness comes first – over and above the needs of others. We pay lip service to keeping the commandments, but don’t really care that we break them – daily. We don’t even pay lip service to keeping the laws of the land – like speed limits and traffic laws. How about the command of Jesus to love our neighbor? If they are good neighbors, we might at least try to like them, but if they cross us just once, we don’t even speak to them anymore.
And yet, somehow, God sees fit to bless us anyway; sees fit to create a covenant with us, claiming us as his people; through the means of grace, God cleanses us, washes away our sin, frees us from our slavery, and justifies us by his grace, through his only son, Jesus.
This is the mystery of salvation that Martin Luther struggled with so greatly. Luther could claim himself as a sinner, unworthy of any attention from God whatsoever. Luther understood the need to confess his sins and be forgiven, and his need to forgive others. Luther understood that he could not keep the law, no matter how hard he tried, no matter how hard he punished himself, no matter how hard he studied and prayer. But deep down, Luther also understood that through his baptism, through the covenant God made with his people, that is was God who had the last word.
For all that we hear about Martin Luther and the Reformation of the church, we don’t often hear about Luther’s struggle in life – the same struggle that each of us has. We struggle daily with sin, our desire to be our own person, to do those things that satisfy ourselves, rather than those things that might satisfy God. We may not spend hours each day in confession as Luther did, but we certainly, at the end of the day, can look back and see those things that we are (or at least should be) ashamed of. We know our own imperfections, and even if we don’t there is surely someone who is willing to point them out for you.
Luther understood all of this, but he also understood who and whose he was - a child of God. Luther, through much study, despair, and soul-searching, found that God had not abandoned him to slavery. Through Luther’s study of the writings of the apostle Paul, he realized that God had not just made a covenant with Israel, as we read about in the first lesson, but had indeed made a covenant with all of his people.
If you will turn to page 1162 in the back of your hymnal, and read Luther’s response to the second article of the creed with me:
"I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father in eternity, and also a true human being, born of the virgin Mary, is my Lord. He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned human being. He has purchased and freed me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver but with his holy, precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death. He has done all this in order that I may belong to him, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in eternal righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as he is risen from the dead and lives and rules eternally. This is most certainly true. (hold your finger in this page)
Here, we see that Luther found that his salvation, his redemption, was not dependent on his own actions, or even his own understanding, but completely dependent on what God has done, through Christ Jesus. As Paul wrote, “…since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…”
Redemption – forgiveness – cleansing – freedom – all these gifts we receive through the actions of another, not through our actions, not through anything that we could possibly do, not through our own self-righteousness, but through the selfless act of Jesus, the messiah, on the cross. Through this one act, so Luther tells us, we are saved (Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p. 1162)."
Now the question becomes, saved for what? Jesus did the hard work – we are forgiven and redeemed children of God. Now what?
That seems to be the question that has plagued Christians ever since the Reformation. While Luther mourned the loss of unity, others reveled in it, even going so far as to split off again and again and again – any time they disagreed over something. Many of these dissenters would even point to Luther and say that he led the way, and that when we disagree on theology, or doctrine, or even the color of the carpet, we should pack up and leave, finding or creating a place where our viewpoint is accepted.
I would imagine that if anyone actually asked Luther about this, it would be to find that Luther’s greatest regret was that the church had split, rather than worked toward reconciliation. Even today, almost 500 years later, we as Lutherans still look for the opportunity to reconcile with our sisters and brothers in other denominations.
For Luther, the “now what” question had much more to do with this, how am I – sinner by birth and saint by the grace of God – to live a life that in some meaningful way shows God that I have accepted His gift of Grace and want to respond to it in such a way that it shows how much it means to me? How is it that I – a sinner – can live a life that shows that I am also worthy of being called a saint?
If anyone understood how hard this would be, it was Luther. Luther most certainly knew that his justification by grace did not let him off the hook. How does one thank God for a gift this great? This wonderful? This unbelievably fantastic? Certainly not by saying, “Oh thanks” and then just going on with life like nothing had happened. This gift does come with a string attached – no, not something that we have to do in order to earn or keep it – but a string that ties us forever to Jesus, a connection that cannot do anything but change the very core of our being. Sure – we can try to ignore it, or even try to cut it, but there is a problem. You have been claimed through your baptism, and marked with the Cross of Christ forever. You are branded! That string won’t go away just because we don’t like it. You have been made holy. Turning back to page 1162, here is what Luther says in his response to the third article of the creed on being made Holy:
"I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith, just as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith. Daily in this Christian church the Holy Spirit abundantly forgives all sins – mine and those of all believers. On the last day the Holy Spirit will raise me and all the dead and will give to me and all believers in Christ eternal life. This is most certainly true (ELW, 1162)."
Through the Holy Spirit, we – the church – this gathering of believers – we are called, enlightened, and made holy. Can you imagine? That is what happens to those who are redeemed by the Cross – we are made holy.
We are called through the gospel to do as Jesus taught the disciples to do – to feed the hungry, care for the poor, to share the good news with all people. We are called to keep the commandments, especially the two great commandments – to love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind, and to love our neighbor – just as much as we love ourselves. We are called to care for the widow and orphan, and all who are oppressed. We are called to give for the mission of the church – not as we want, but as the widow gave with her mite. We are called to follow Jesus – all the way to the cross. We are called, like Paul, to have our lives transformed, and to suffer for the sake of the gospel. We are called, to be Christ to one another. Not so that we will be saved, but because we have been saved – by faith, through, through God’s amazing grace. This is most certainly true. Amen.
Psalm 46
Romans 3:19–28
John 8:31–36
People of God, I have something to tell you this morning that you are not going to like. We are nothing but slaves – you and I – all of us – are slaves – we are all slaves – to sin, to the world, and as slaves, we are all condemned. None of us are worthy to be here, to come to the altar and receive the body and blood of Christ – none of us!!!
We sin, we choose our own wants and desires over the needs of others. We hoard our time, our money, our family, our resources. Daily, we let people around the world starve. We even let our neighbors right here go hungry, go without food and shelter, even though we have enough – for ourselves, our families, and even enough to share.
We demand that things be done the way that makes us happy, no matter what. Our happiness comes first – over and above the needs of others. We pay lip service to keeping the commandments, but don’t really care that we break them – daily. We don’t even pay lip service to keeping the laws of the land – like speed limits and traffic laws. How about the command of Jesus to love our neighbor? If they are good neighbors, we might at least try to like them, but if they cross us just once, we don’t even speak to them anymore.
And yet, somehow, God sees fit to bless us anyway; sees fit to create a covenant with us, claiming us as his people; through the means of grace, God cleanses us, washes away our sin, frees us from our slavery, and justifies us by his grace, through his only son, Jesus.
This is the mystery of salvation that Martin Luther struggled with so greatly. Luther could claim himself as a sinner, unworthy of any attention from God whatsoever. Luther understood the need to confess his sins and be forgiven, and his need to forgive others. Luther understood that he could not keep the law, no matter how hard he tried, no matter how hard he punished himself, no matter how hard he studied and prayer. But deep down, Luther also understood that through his baptism, through the covenant God made with his people, that is was God who had the last word.
For all that we hear about Martin Luther and the Reformation of the church, we don’t often hear about Luther’s struggle in life – the same struggle that each of us has. We struggle daily with sin, our desire to be our own person, to do those things that satisfy ourselves, rather than those things that might satisfy God. We may not spend hours each day in confession as Luther did, but we certainly, at the end of the day, can look back and see those things that we are (or at least should be) ashamed of. We know our own imperfections, and even if we don’t there is surely someone who is willing to point them out for you.
Luther understood all of this, but he also understood who and whose he was - a child of God. Luther, through much study, despair, and soul-searching, found that God had not abandoned him to slavery. Through Luther’s study of the writings of the apostle Paul, he realized that God had not just made a covenant with Israel, as we read about in the first lesson, but had indeed made a covenant with all of his people.
If you will turn to page 1162 in the back of your hymnal, and read Luther’s response to the second article of the creed with me:
"I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father in eternity, and also a true human being, born of the virgin Mary, is my Lord. He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned human being. He has purchased and freed me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver but with his holy, precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death. He has done all this in order that I may belong to him, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in eternal righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as he is risen from the dead and lives and rules eternally. This is most certainly true. (hold your finger in this page)
Here, we see that Luther found that his salvation, his redemption, was not dependent on his own actions, or even his own understanding, but completely dependent on what God has done, through Christ Jesus. As Paul wrote, “…since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…”
Redemption – forgiveness – cleansing – freedom – all these gifts we receive through the actions of another, not through our actions, not through anything that we could possibly do, not through our own self-righteousness, but through the selfless act of Jesus, the messiah, on the cross. Through this one act, so Luther tells us, we are saved (Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p. 1162)."
Now the question becomes, saved for what? Jesus did the hard work – we are forgiven and redeemed children of God. Now what?
That seems to be the question that has plagued Christians ever since the Reformation. While Luther mourned the loss of unity, others reveled in it, even going so far as to split off again and again and again – any time they disagreed over something. Many of these dissenters would even point to Luther and say that he led the way, and that when we disagree on theology, or doctrine, or even the color of the carpet, we should pack up and leave, finding or creating a place where our viewpoint is accepted.
I would imagine that if anyone actually asked Luther about this, it would be to find that Luther’s greatest regret was that the church had split, rather than worked toward reconciliation. Even today, almost 500 years later, we as Lutherans still look for the opportunity to reconcile with our sisters and brothers in other denominations.
For Luther, the “now what” question had much more to do with this, how am I – sinner by birth and saint by the grace of God – to live a life that in some meaningful way shows God that I have accepted His gift of Grace and want to respond to it in such a way that it shows how much it means to me? How is it that I – a sinner – can live a life that shows that I am also worthy of being called a saint?
If anyone understood how hard this would be, it was Luther. Luther most certainly knew that his justification by grace did not let him off the hook. How does one thank God for a gift this great? This wonderful? This unbelievably fantastic? Certainly not by saying, “Oh thanks” and then just going on with life like nothing had happened. This gift does come with a string attached – no, not something that we have to do in order to earn or keep it – but a string that ties us forever to Jesus, a connection that cannot do anything but change the very core of our being. Sure – we can try to ignore it, or even try to cut it, but there is a problem. You have been claimed through your baptism, and marked with the Cross of Christ forever. You are branded! That string won’t go away just because we don’t like it. You have been made holy. Turning back to page 1162, here is what Luther says in his response to the third article of the creed on being made Holy:
"I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith, just as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith. Daily in this Christian church the Holy Spirit abundantly forgives all sins – mine and those of all believers. On the last day the Holy Spirit will raise me and all the dead and will give to me and all believers in Christ eternal life. This is most certainly true (ELW, 1162)."
Through the Holy Spirit, we – the church – this gathering of believers – we are called, enlightened, and made holy. Can you imagine? That is what happens to those who are redeemed by the Cross – we are made holy.
We are called through the gospel to do as Jesus taught the disciples to do – to feed the hungry, care for the poor, to share the good news with all people. We are called to keep the commandments, especially the two great commandments – to love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind, and to love our neighbor – just as much as we love ourselves. We are called to care for the widow and orphan, and all who are oppressed. We are called to give for the mission of the church – not as we want, but as the widow gave with her mite. We are called to follow Jesus – all the way to the cross. We are called, like Paul, to have our lives transformed, and to suffer for the sake of the gospel. We are called, to be Christ to one another. Not so that we will be saved, but because we have been saved – by faith, through, through God’s amazing grace. This is most certainly true. Amen.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
After the return
I've been back for two days now, and am still exhausted - too much driving and not enough sleep while I was in New Orleans. I would like to think I will get caught up soon, but as Rusty and his family is arriving tomorrow for a visit, and then we are keeping our granddaughter for the next week while we have Vacation Bible School, the chances are pretty slim that sleep will be any more plentiful for the next several days.
As I read various posts of friends who were in New Orleans with their youth groups, and see pictures posted on FaceBook, I am in awe of all the people who were there and of all of the projects that were worked on. More info can be found at http://www.elca.org/Growing-In-Faith/Ministry/Youth-Ministry.aspx
For now, the memories of last week will feed sermons for several weeks, and hopefully vitalize our youth group into more servant activities. It was good to see many, many friends, but more importantly, it was good to see so many gathered to do God's work.
As I read various posts of friends who were in New Orleans with their youth groups, and see pictures posted on FaceBook, I am in awe of all the people who were there and of all of the projects that were worked on. More info can be found at http://www.elca.org/Growing-In-Faith/Ministry/Youth-Ministry.aspx
For now, the memories of last week will feed sermons for several weeks, and hopefully vitalize our youth group into more servant activities. It was good to see many, many friends, but more importantly, it was good to see so many gathered to do God's work.
Monday, July 27, 2009
The trip home
Well, after 15 hours on the road, three major thunderstorms, and a lot of miles, we pulled into the church parking lot at 2:30 a.m. today. I got home about 3:00 a.m. and did the minimum unpacking and went to bed and slept till almost noon. After waking up and unpacking, the rental van was returned and life began returning to normal with a trip to the grocery store.
It is late and I am not quite recovered, so it is off to bed. In the next day or two I hope to upload a couple more pictures and final thoughts on the youth gathering. For the moment, just reading about all the various experiences via Facebook tells me that pretty much everyone had a great time and really felt the impact of the Servant projects. Thanks to all who went, and all who planned. Thanks be to God for all of you!
It is late and I am not quite recovered, so it is off to bed. In the next day or two I hope to upload a couple more pictures and final thoughts on the youth gathering. For the moment, just reading about all the various experiences via Facebook tells me that pretty much everyone had a great time and really felt the impact of the Servant projects. Thanks to all who went, and all who planned. Thanks be to God for all of you!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Day Four - Jesus, Justice, and Jazz
Day four - hard to believe that we have been here that long - it seems like just last night that we arrived, and now it is time to start packing up to head home.
For breakfast this morning, we (and several hundred other Lutherans) went to Cafe Du Monde for beignets and coffee ( or oj in a couple of cases). For our last dinner in New Orleans, we went to The Gumbo House for gumbo and bread pudding (at least, that is what I had). These are New Orleans treats that every visitor should try. The other is a good shrimp po' boy, but we took care of that on the way into town on Tuesday.
The last night in the dome was wonderful, with great music and moving speakers, but it was made even better by the opportunity I had to reconnect with a seminary classmate who has been in Texas for the last year. In fact, I saw more friends from seminary this week that I have in the last six months! It was great - especailly to see some whose ministry has called them to places far away from the Carolinas.
Our youth - and most of the youth here - have been deeply touched by this experience. They have seen a new side to poverty, to desparate situations, and realize anew how lucky they are and how much it touches other people to have even simple things done for them. This week has been full of amazing stories and events, capped off tonight by a visit from the mayor of New Orleans and a letter - sent by President Obama and read by Presiding Bishop Hanson. An exciting week; an opportunity to be a part of history; an opportunity to learn about serving others; an opportunity to grow in our faith. Thanks be to God!!!
For breakfast this morning, we (and several hundred other Lutherans) went to Cafe Du Monde for beignets and coffee ( or oj in a couple of cases). For our last dinner in New Orleans, we went to The Gumbo House for gumbo and bread pudding (at least, that is what I had). These are New Orleans treats that every visitor should try. The other is a good shrimp po' boy, but we took care of that on the way into town on Tuesday.
The last night in the dome was wonderful, with great music and moving speakers, but it was made even better by the opportunity I had to reconnect with a seminary classmate who has been in Texas for the last year. In fact, I saw more friends from seminary this week that I have in the last six months! It was great - especailly to see some whose ministry has called them to places far away from the Carolinas.
Our youth - and most of the youth here - have been deeply touched by this experience. They have seen a new side to poverty, to desparate situations, and realize anew how lucky they are and how much it touches other people to have even simple things done for them. This week has been full of amazing stories and events, capped off tonight by a visit from the mayor of New Orleans and a letter - sent by President Obama and read by Presiding Bishop Hanson. An exciting week; an opportunity to be a part of history; an opportunity to learn about serving others; an opportunity to grow in our faith. Thanks be to God!!!
Day Three - Jesus, Justice, and Jazz
If you are reading this, then the hotel Internet has become cooperative again. Last night, I was writing a blog post and as I tried to upload the first picture, the Internet connection went down and never really seemed to recover. I reconnected a couple of times, but could not upload any photos.
This photo is of the school (Charles R. Drew Elementary) in New Orleans where we spent the day painting classrooms and hallways. This school, built in 1907, had flood damage on the first floor from Katrina, but the upper two floors had just been neglected, as we were told, since integration occurred in New Orleans, 40 some years ago. These rooms (we were on the third floor) had not been painted in a very long time, and the walls and bulletin boards had graffiti all over them.
This photo shows the crowd that we painted with on Friday - 5 buses brought us to the school. We painted from about 8:00 a.m. till around 2:00 p.m. It then took almost an hour to clean up; when we left, the floors were 10 times cleaner than the were when we arrive. The walls also looked great!This school is just outside of the French Quarter, in a fairly low-income neighborhood. Since Katrina, about 40,000 of the 67,000 kids that used to attend New Orleans parish schools have returned. Most have returned to find that their schools are in worse shape than they were, and that supplies and teachers are in short supply. Tyson, the 9th grade science teacher who now heads up the recovery effort for the school system, is one who stayed. He did not evacuate, did not leave (at least, not for very long), and has worked since Katrina trying to help re-open the schools so that kids have a place to learn when they come back.
Friday night was also North Carolina's night to
fill the dome with matching t-shirts. Ours were yellow, as you can see and were designed by one of the youth members from NC. We met after the Friday night gathering with Bishop Bolick to celebrate the group of 1100 Lutherans who came from NC to spend the week in New Orleans. As I understand it, our synod has one of, if not the largest, contingent from any single synod. Quite a feat! We spent about an hour hanging around and meeting people and finding friends from LYO and other gatherings.
All in all, a very busy couple of days. Today was much quieter - we spent the day at the Learning Center, with a last visit to the Old Lutheran store for souvenirs of the gathering. We also visited the Thrivent Builds display, which was great since part of our group took part in a Thrivent Builds Habitat House last year in Lexington.
Now - off to the dome for the last night! Rumor has it that there is a live feed available during the gathering (from about 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. - CDST). Click the link above and check it out!
Also - if you have not seen any of the news articles - look to the right of the blog and click on the ELCA News Links - there are several good articles listed there.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Day Two - Jesus, Justice, and Jazz
First off, no pictures tonight - I don't have time to download them and get them ready to post as we launch for our servant project at 6:30 a.m. I somehow feel that some sleep is in order, so no pictures tonight - just a couple of links and a few thoughts.
First the links - I went looking for news articles on this event and found a couple that are worth reading, as they explain quite a bit about what the planners of this event hope to accomplish. The local New Orleans paper had this article and AP had this one. Both are good articles.
Today was our day to spend time at the Interactive Center. There are many, many activities to do here, but with 1/3 of 37,000 people also there, the lines were long and so many things did not get done. But, we met many people - including many friends that were here. I think most of us met someone we knew, along with many new people.
One of the highlights of the day for me was ending the day at the Marriott where Lost and Found were having a concert. I first heard of Lost and Found after the last Lutheran Youth Gathering three years ago (San Antonio). Later that year, they played a concert at Camp Victor in Ocean Springs, MS while we were on internship with Luther Disaster Response. Michael and George put on a great concert, and as an added bonus, a fellow NC pastor and a band he is in was the opening act for Lost and Found. Great job, Brian!
All in all, a good day, with a little down-time to get ready for tomorrow. An early morning and a long work day are in store, so check back tomorrow for pictures and another update.
First the links - I went looking for news articles on this event and found a couple that are worth reading, as they explain quite a bit about what the planners of this event hope to accomplish. The local New Orleans paper had this article and AP had this one. Both are good articles.
Today was our day to spend time at the Interactive Center. There are many, many activities to do here, but with 1/3 of 37,000 people also there, the lines were long and so many things did not get done. But, we met many people - including many friends that were here. I think most of us met someone we knew, along with many new people.
One of the highlights of the day for me was ending the day at the Marriott where Lost and Found were having a concert. I first heard of Lost and Found after the last Lutheran Youth Gathering three years ago (San Antonio). Later that year, they played a concert at Camp Victor in Ocean Springs, MS while we were on internship with Luther Disaster Response. Michael and George put on a great concert, and as an added bonus, a fellow NC pastor and a band he is in was the opening act for Lost and Found. Great job, Brian!
All in all, a good day, with a little down-time to get ready for tomorrow. An early morning and a long work day are in store, so check back tomorrow for pictures and another update.
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